Manchester branch of National Union of Journalists to discuss war and persecution on May Day

The Salford and Manchester branch of the National Union of Journalists is set to host a string of talks over May Day weekend to tie in with the traditional Salford to Manchester march, with a focus on a theme of Journalists at War.

The Mechanics Institute will play host to the NUJ talks on May Day weekend

Saturday May 2 will see a number of established local journalists discuss their own experiences of conflict, from the frontline and beyond, at the Mechanics Institute on Princess Street, Manchester – the birthplace of the Trade Union Centre. Tim Gopsill, representing the NUJ and the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, will discuss the surveillance of journalists. Mr. Gopsill spent 21 years editing the NUJ’s in-house journalism magazine, The Journalist. Meanwhile, actor-turned-journalist Nigel Pivaro, a branch member who swapped Coronation Street for frontline coverage of the recent conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, will discuss his work in the worn-torn regions.

Mr. Pivaro, who played Terry Duckworth on Coronation Street, is now a journalist.

Other talks on the day are to include one from Amitt Bhatt, an Indian journalist exiled from his own country and now a member of the Manchester and Salford NUJ branch. He will speak about the persecution he suffered for his manner of his investigative journalism in his homeland. Mr. Bhatt was subjected to violence and death threats against himself and his family after he was critical of the policies of the Indian government in the Kashmir region.

Stephen Kingston, editor of left-wing, pro-trade union website Salford Star, will also speak at the event, discussing the difficulties he has faced in his line of investigative work, particularly in terms of his run-ins with the police and others in authority. Mr. Kingston is also expected touch upon his experiences covering the story at the Barton Moss fracking camp, where confrontations with law enforcement were common.

NUJ branch secretary Kath Grant said: “The actual theme of war is quite loose; we’ll touch upon typical war reporting from the frontlines, but also the persecution that journalists suffer in their line of work on a daily basis, especially by the state. The talks are open to the public.”